NFL Power Rankings: Where Do The Arizona Cardinals Stand After Week One?

Week one the the NFL has officially come to a close and with that, every major football website has come out with their weekly power rankings. Our very own SB Nation has their rankings here and here is another one from Pro Football Talk.

Both of their rankings put the Cardinals at the exact same spot, but what is interesting is the team's that surround them.

The Arizona Cardinals rank as the 17th best team in the league, according to SB Nation and PFT, after their week one victory over the Carolina Panthers. Not many predicted Cam Newton to put on quite the display that he did, throwing for over 400 yards in his NFL debut. That, along with the game coming down to the wire and giving up some big plays could be the reason that they were not ranked higher.

The odd part is, SB Nation still ranks the St. Louis Rams ahead of the Cardinals in their power rankings. Yes, the Rams did play a better team, but they lost the game. Add in the fact that Sam Bradford was injured and receiver Danny Amendola might be out for an extensive amount of time; it just doesn't add up.

The Rams are only two spots ahead of the Cardinals and they play the New York Giants on Monday Night Football next week. That will be a game that should show us more of what the Rams will be like this season. I think PFT was more accurate in their assessment, putting the Rams behind the 17th ranked Cardinals at 21.

Some other surprises for me were the Jaguars being ahead of the Cardinals on both lists. They beat the Tennessee Titans last weekend with Luke McCown as their starting quarterback. I don't see the Jaguars having continued success as long as they have McCown under center.

Lastly, even though the Cardinals pulled out a win, they didn't move up PFT's power rankings chart. The Bills beat the Chiefs and they moved ahead of the Cowboys, but the Cardinals were unable to do the same. I understand that the Bills were on the road, but to believe that Kansas City was a worthy opponent is asinine.

If the Cardinals beat the Washington Redskins on Sunday, look for them to shoot up the charts. Anything less than the top 12 would be a crime. For now, I am not that upset about them being down the list. Much like the 2008 Super Bowl team, the Cardinals are flying below the radar and that is just fine with me.